cover image Let’s Get Frank: Canada’s Mad Man of Advertising

Let’s Get Frank: Canada’s Mad Man of Advertising

Robin Brunet. Douglas & McIntyre, $29.95 (232p) ISBN 978-1-77162-181-6

This biography of ad industry legend Frank Palmer from journalist Brunet (Red Robinson: The Last Deejay) is rambling, repetitive, and barely readable. However, with so little written about the competitive Canadian advertising field, the book has value for its depiction of how Palmer helped his industry move beyond being merely a satellite of giant American agencies. The constant references to Palmer’s reliably unamusing and mean-spirited pranks (in one, he quietly entered a colleague’s bathroom while the man was taking a shower and “carefully emptied a glass of red wine between {his} legs”) quickly become as tiresome as experiencing them firsthand must have been. The man couldn’t keep a partner for very long, and his behavior was likely the deal-breaker. Still, he accomplished a great deal, developing Palmer Jarvis from the ground up and making it one of the most successful and creatively acclaimed Canadian advertising agencies for many years. Unfortunately, Brunet’s depiction of Palmer as a womanizing adolescent trickster driven by ego, and his emphasis on the cutthroat aspects of the industry, far overshadow the real contributions Palmer made. (Aug.)